North Korea Isn’t in the World Cup Final

North Korea’s Tae Se-jong cries during the national anthem before the World Cup match against Brazil in Johannesburg on June 15, 2010.

Zuma Press

A spoof video doing the rounds shows a North Korean news broadcast saying that the national team has made it to the World Cup final in Brazil, thrashing Japan, China and and the U.S. in the process.

The minute-long clip fooled some media, who reported it as genuine. On YouTube, the clip has more than 1.5 million views.

It begins with an aerial shot of Arena Corinthians in São Paulo filled with fans dressed in red and waving the North Korean national flag. There follows footage from a match played far from the Brazil World Cup in what appears to be an empty concrete stadium.

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